Mark of the Vampire
by Angelic Gamer
Summary: A new enemy is loose and Liddell is forced to sacrifice her spring break to deal with him.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so this is my very first fanfic…so please no flames. Although constructive criticism is allowed. Now please enjoy my fic.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a witch's tale**

**Mark of the Vampire**

**Chapter1: Spring Break**

Liddell walked down the pumpkin path on her way back to her dorm room. Classes had just ended for the day and she could have cared less about them. Ever since her so-called dream, Liddell has found school even more boring than before. She knew something was up the moment she woke up in the library. Even though she couldn't remember the whole dream she was still left with the feeling that it actually happened.

To prove it a lot of things have been different since that day. For starters, she finds her Dayna is now gold, there is a pendant around her that she did not have before and…, she stops and looks up at the trees to a bat looking at her, that bat has been following her around lately. She remember from pieces of her dream that there had been a bat following her around but she had a feeling that it was more friendly than what it looked to be. She had a feeling it was something more friendly and reliable, yet for some strange reason she had this urge to hit it with her umbrella. She sighed and turned away from the bat and continued to her dorm.

The dorms were in frenzy due to everyone getting packed and out the doors for spring break. For the next week the school will be completely deserted with the exception of a very few number of students. Liddell considered herself amongst those lucky few. Since most of the teachers would be gone too, you can pretty much get away with just about anything you want. As Liddell arrived at her room she found her own roommate, Kitty, getting her own stuff together. Kitty looked up as her friend entered the room.

"Liddell!" she yelled as she ran to give her best friend a hug. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me during the spring holiday, my parents don't mind?"

"And give up my all access pass to do whatever I want. No thanks."

"You always say that. I just thought you'd like a change since you're inside this school year round."

"I may not have a family to go home to like everyone else but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around and mope when there's fun to be had instead."

Liddell crossed the room to go to the small balcony and laid her head on the railing. Truth was it did upset a little not having a family. She knew all she had was her mom, but she dropped Liddell off at this school and never came back for her. She looked up from her thoughts to see the bat starring at her. She sighed and held out her hand. The bat flew from its perch and landed in the palm of her hand. Liddell then began to stroke its head. She was suddenly overcome with the feeling that she knew this bat and felt she could trust her very life to it. She turned around and saw that Kitty was done with her packing and was ready to go.

"Alright then, looks like I'll be going now. Are you sure you don't want to come?" Kitty asked making one last desperate attempt.

"I'm positive. Now go before I literally light a fire under your butt."

"Ok! Just promise me you won't get into too much trouble."

"Fine, I promise."

With that Kitty left and Liddell was left alone in the room. Liddell looked down at the bat in her hands and it looked up at her with sadness in its eyes.

"Don't give me that look; I don't need sympathy from a bat!"

She tossed the bat outside then flopped down on her bed. The school wouldn't be empty until later tonight, so for now she would take a nap. As soon Liddell slip into her sleep, the bat turned into a handsome young man.

"Still vicious." He said. He crept into the room and looked at the sleeping little witch. He placed a hand to her forehead and said "alright Liddell it's time for you to remember who I am."


	2. Chapter 2

**Memories and a New Mission**

Flashes of images came into Liddell's head:

Going into the castle

Finding a vampire

Releasing Eld Witch

6 kingdoms

6 grateful princesses

A weird man in a tux

A chatty cat

A white rabbit crying blood

A hare with an attitude and a mouse

Her final battle with Eld Witch

And the witch being Anne

Liddell woke up with a jolt. She was panting heavily and there was sweat dripping down her face. She couldn't believe what she just saw. Did _all_ of that really happen? Some parts she could believe but others…

"Liddell." A voice said. Liddell looks up but really couldn't see anything. The room is completely dark with only the faint shine of the moon to give light. Then she sees something stir in the corner. It appears to be a human size figure that looks to be wearing a cape. When the light falls on him she saw that he had silver hair and red eyes. It's the vampire from her dream, Loue, her friend and guide.

Even though she knows he's friendly she couldn't stop herself from retreating down the bed until her back hit the headboard. Loue paused at that moment, looking surprised and a little hurt by actions.

"It's okay Liddell. I'm not going to hurt you. Do you remember who I am?"

Liddell could only bring herself to nod at his question, still in too much shock to speak.

"Good." He said. He moved closer to the bed and sat by her feet. "Do you remember everything from the time Eld Witch was released to her defeat?"

Again Liddell could only nod.

"Okay that's a relief. I was afraid I was going to have to explain everything to you. To start with you are needed again to save everyone."

"Did I do something wrong again?" Liddell said finally finding her tongue.

"Well, no but your assistance is needed none the less."

"The last time you needed my assistance the incident at hand was kinda my fault, so I helped. If your current problem is not my doing in any way then why should I?"

Loue stared at her in disbelief for a moment before letting out a sigh. _Yep still the same, _he thought. "First off the problem does have something to do with you in fact it has a lot to do with you. Secondly, what do you mean the last incident was _kinda_ your fault? It was entirely your fault.

"Well I seem to recall a certain vampire who was supposed to be on guard duty and keep people like me out." Liddell said with a mocking smirk.

"You know what we really don't have time for this. I have to get you to the gate room soon."

Before Liddell could protest again, Loue had gotten up, grab Liddell by the forearms, lifted her up and set her on the ground.

"Now grab what you need and let's go." Then he headed to the corner of the room to get his headache to stop. While Liddell went to her closet and pulled out a small backpack.

"You do know it's my spring break right?" breaking the silence as she packed her things.

"I do."

"Then you must also know that this is my time to do what I want without punishment. Do you know how often these opportunities come along?"

"I'm guessing every spring, summer, and Christmas break." Loue said sarcastically.

"Okay smartass." She slung her packed bag on her shoulder. "Mind telling me now, what I'm sacrificing my rare moments of freedom for?"

"Gladly, I'll explain on the way." He said making his way to the door. He opens the door and gestures for her to go ahead. "Ladies first." He said with a gentlemen's smile and a hint of sarcasm. Liddell huffs past him with her head held high and the two make their way out of the school and toward the graveyard.

** I really hope you guys are enjoying this so far. Like I said before this is my first fic so I don't know if I'm good at this. Just as a heads up my next chapter might be a bit long but I had break through and wanted to get all that down before it left me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Starry Flight**

They made their way toward Babayaga's place so they could be transported to the castle. Loue wasn't keen on asking this woman for help but if it got them to the castle faster he really couldn't complain. They mainly walked in silence which was making Loue nervous. If it's one thing he has come to learn about Liddell is that she is _always _talking. This is one girl who isn't afraid to say what's on her mind. So when she's quiet and not saying a word, it's definitely not a good sign. Loue took a nervous side glance to Liddell. Her eyes were fixed forward as she walked but she appeared deep in thought. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on inside that head of hers.

Liddell's mind was racing. She was still processing all the memories she got from Loue. On one hand she wants to jump for joy because she managed to accomplish what she wanted to do. She found the rune magic and used it perfectly and she defeated someone as powerful as Eld Witch. On the other hand she remembers that Eld Witch was Anne, the girl she met in Florin. She seemed so nice; how did someone like her become Eld Witch. This and a bunch of other questions entered her mind and she doesn't think Mr. Mysterious over there would be too quick to answer any of them. Whatever, he can keep his secrets for now she'll get them out of him sooner or later. At the thought her hand griped on her umbrella tighter and an evil grin crossed her face. Oh yes getting his secrets was going to be fun.

She then saw that Babayaga's hut came into view. "That's the place" pointing out the hut to Loue. However, when they reached the hut they found the door to be locked and a note taped to it…

~ Closed for Spring Break ~

Gone to the islands for a much needed vacation

If you need me…_too bad!_

I'll be soaking up the sun in my new micro bikini

While showing off my beautiful wart covered body and drinking margaritas

~ Have a dark twisted day ~

Liddell and Loue stood there looking green in face as the ghastly image of Babayaga plagued their minds. Loue broke the silence first. "Well….um...at least she's still confident about her body in her old age."

"Oh please she only does that cause she knows it grosses people out. Uggh...but forget that how are we suppose to get to the castle now!"

Loue glanced down at the little witch throwing the hissy fit and smirked. Without saying a word he picked up Liddell like a bride and grinned at the deep blush that crossed her face.

"W w what are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Hang on" was all he said and then began to rise into the air. When he was up high enough he started forward and glided off in the direction of the castle. Liddell was amazed at the sight of everything. Above her the night was clear and the stars were creating a twinkling path for them. Below her she could make out the trees of the forest and some small houses that were in the area. She looked over Loue's shoulder to see her school fading into distance. She turned her attention to Loue. She was surprised by how warm he felt. She was always told that vampires were cold beings but Loue didn't feel cold out at all. She felt very safe being in his arms like this and noticed his hair took on a more shimmering silver look in the moonlight, giving him a more debonair appearance. He was starting to seem more like a dark prince, so strong and masculine…

WAIT A MINUTE!

What is she thinking! Loue isn't handsome, far from it! He's stupid and ugly. Yeah that's it. Just keep telling yourself that.

"Liddell" Loue's voice broke her out of her trance.

"Y yes." She said timidly.

"Are you okay? Your face is really red."

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" she scoffed and turned away from him in attempt to hide her still red face. She needed to change the subject and fast. "So spill."

He answered her with a questioning look.

"You said you would explain the reason I was needed on the way. Well we're on our way so start talking."

"Very well. To start with do you those crystals of Eld Witch's that she used to hide away the princess' dolls?"

It took her awhile but she did start to remember those weird looking crystals that had the dolls in them. She later found out Anne, a.k.a Eld Witch, used those crystals to hide objects she stole from people as a sort of prank. Guess old habits die hard. "Yeah, what about them?"

"Well even though she was sealed technically she wasn't dead. So any crystals she had created and sealed things away in still existed. Then when she died those crystals shattered and the things inside them were released."

"So how is that an emergency? Just give back what she stole. No big deal."

"I'm not talking about petty little items. I'm talking about something far more dangerous."

"What is it?" not liking Loue tone at all.

"1000 years ago, Eld Witch had many servants and followers. One of which was a vampire named Goth. He was her most deadly of warriors. He killed without remorse and was the sadistic man around. Anyways sometime during the war Eld Witch sealed Goth away in one of her crystals. Now that she is gone his crystal has shattered and he is loose again."

Liddell took a moment to process everything before asking "If this guy was her most powerful soldier why did she seal him away?"

Loue's face turned slightly grim then answered. "Let's just say he betrayed her and was punished for it."

"Oh" she kinda wanted to know what this guy did that was so bad.

"Goth is capable of summoning armies of monsters like the Eld Witch and has already sent them to attack the 6 kingdoms."

"Are the princesses okay?" starting to fear for their safety.

"They're fine for the moment. Their defenses are holding but we still must get them to safety as soon as possible and that's where you come in." Loue pushed forward a little faster and soon enough the castle came into view. Loue touched ground in front of the large front doors. He set Liddell gently feet but kept his arm around her shoulders. "So you're going to have to do two things this time. The first is to go to each kingdom and collect both the princesses and their sigils."

"You want me to take them out of their kingdoms?"

"Yes. Assuring the princesses safety is top priority. Goth may be able to get into the six kingdoms but he cannot get into Alice's kingdom."

"Oh I get it now. We're going to use the princesses sigils to open the door to Alice's world the hide all of the princesses there."

"Exactly. Then once all of them are there we can deal with Goth openly."

"Alright then let's go!" she pulled away from Loue and opened the door and went into the castle. Loue stood at the entrance watching the little witch as she skipped down the hall. He smiled at her carefree attitude and her ability to tackle a task with a smile on her face. Then his smile faded and his expression turned sad.

"Now all I have to do is keep her that way"

**Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Just to let you know the name Goth does not relate to Gothic people or insults them in any way. I just needed a bad guy name and that one kept popping into my head so I went with it. P.S. I do not own a witch's tale. I don't think I said that yet.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really getting into this**

**Getting Kaguya**

Liddell made her way to the gate room eager to get this mission started. As she approached the door she had a nagging feeling that Loue wasn't telling her everything. It was then she realized that Loue wasn't next to her.

"Huh, I thought he was right behind me?" she was about to go look for him when he she saw him turn a corner. "Where were you?"

"I was coming. It's not my fault you decided to charge ahead." Liddell noticed that Loue seemed different.

"Hey you ok? You seemed bummed."

He gave her his usual smile and said "I'm fine nothing for you to worry about" then patted her on the head.

Liddell blushed wildly and her umbrella at his arm. "You idiot! I told you I didn't like that."

"Sorry I forgot."

"Honestly who was the one who got their memories wiped me or you?" And opened the door to the gate room and went in. It looked about the same as she remembered. The six gates making a circle around the room, the stone totem that leads to shadow town, and the huge square in the center that leads to Alice's world. "So where do we go first?"

"Florin and Al'Sahara are the ones receiving the heaviest attacks at the moment. Oceria and Artis are under semi heavy attack but their defenses are holding strong. Then there is Rem Sacchras and Rem Boreas, they're not really attack at the moment so they're well off."

"So we should start with Florin and Al'Sahara right."

"Yes, since they're the ones under the most distress at the moment."

"Great! Then we're off to Florin." Liddell started running toward the garden kingdom's gate and passed right through it without waiting for Loue. Loue followed suit, knowing it wouldn't take long for the little witch to find trouble. He passed through the gate and found Liddell waiting for him. "You're so slow" she said with her mocking smile.

"Did you ever think that maybe your too fast?" he said with his own smile.

"Of course not. Why would I think that? Anyways, enough chit-chat, we have a princess to save."

"Agreed." Loue said and then transformed into his bat form and perched himself on Liddell's shoulder. Liddell broke into a run and made her way to Kaguya's castle. Florin looked ultimately the same. Sure there was some battle damage here and there but nothing too disastrous. Soon the castle came in sight, as well as the sight of a horde of evil monsters trying to break down the door. She could see the foxes fighting them but they were seriously outnumbered.

"Ok, time to even things up!" Liddell exclaimed. She held out her hands and started a spell when she realized something important. "Uh...Loue…"

Loue flew to face Liddell. "Yes." Liddell lifted her umbrella and swatted Loue down like a fly causing him to hit the ground hard.

"I don't have my spell book you idiot!" she yelled at the dazed bat.

"Oh!" Loue said coming to his senses. Loue picked himself off the ground and transformed into his human form. He dug into his cloak and pulled out the old spell with the rune magic in it. "Here you go. Sorry 'bout that" he said with a 'please don't kill me smile' on his face. Liddell snatched the book from his hand and gave him another whack with her umbrella.

"Next time, don't be so stupid." She flipped through the pages until she found the rune she was looking for. "This one should take care of them. Volc abyss!" she yelled and a ring of fire surrounded the monsters, setting them a blaze and turning them to ash. With the monsters gone they could now go into the castle. One of the foxes came up to Liddell.

"Oh thank goodness you've come. We weren't sure how long we were going to last."

"No problem. How's the princess doing? Is she okay?"

"So far she's fine but who knows how long that will last. It won't be long before the monsters return and in greater and stronger numbers than before."

"She's right Liddell. We don't have much time we need to get Kaguya and go."

"Right." Then they went into the castle and headed straight for the throne room. When they got there they found Kaguya sitting on her throne with a worried expression on her face. Her dragon was coiled around her throne, ready to strike at any one who threatened his master. Kaguya looked up and saw Liddell and Loue in the room.

"Oh Liddell you've come back to save all of us" she said giving Liddell what was probably her first real smile in weeks.

"That's right. The greatest witch is here to save you all and beat the bad guy." Making a grand gesture. Loue stood to the side and rolled his eyes, even the dragon let out a snort.

"It's nice to see you haven't changed since I last saw you."

"Why mess with a good thing."

"I don't mean to squash this reunion but we are on a time schedule. Princess Kaguya we need you to come with us so we can get you to safety."

"I'm still not sure about this plan Loue. It doesn't feel right to just leave my kingdom in a time of crisis."

"I understand but as I said before you're the target the enemy is after. I'm sure if you leave the monsters will have no reason to stay here."

"I hope you're right about that."

Well it makes perfect sense to me. Now grab your sigil and let's go. It will be easier to move you while the monsters are gone," Liddell stated. Kaguya summoned her sigil and had it float toward Liddell. Liddell caught the sigil and stored it away. Kaguya stood and walked toward them.

"So do you have a plan to get me out of here without being seen?"

"As a matter a fact I do," Liddell said. Loue looked taken aback by her statement.

"_You_ have a plan. Since when do you plan anything?" All the statement did was earned Loue another whack from the umbrella.

"Don't be so surprised," she said looking offended. "I am actually capable of actually thinking before I act. Take a look at this." She pulled out her witch's broom from her bag. "With this we can get to the gate room in no time."

Loue seemed impressed by her plan. "Wow you actually did plan ahead."

"Are you saying that I never have a plan?"

"No, but usually your plans involve firing off spells and watching everything die." Kaguya and her dragon nodded their heads at that one.

"Ok, so I don't really 'strategize' but I figured since I was most likely going to have to come back to the kingdoms again, having a quick way to go between the palaces and the gate room was going to come in handy."

"That's actually a good idea. I don't think that the enemy will be expecting an escape through the air," Kaguya said.

"Agreed," said Loue. "Goth has only sent monsters to collect the princesses. He himself has yet to make an appearance."

"Well now that we all agree on _my _plan. I just have one question."

"Yes"

"What are we doing with him?" she said and pointed to the dragon.

"Do not worry; my guardian will be staying here to protect the kingdom."

"Good because I don't think he would fit on the broom." So the trio headed to the front of the palace where they would ride Liddell's broom to the gate room. Liddell poked her head out the door to see if it was clear. She didn't see any monsters but she still saw an unwanted face none the less. The Mad Hatter stood at the entrance waiting for them to exit. "Oh yay and here I thought it was going to be awhile before I saw your freaky face."

"Mmm-hmm. Still the charm of a rattle snake I see." Loue stepped forward to confront the man.

"Mind telling us what you're doing here. We're in a hurry."

"I'm sure you are but do not worry I'll be brief. I'm merely here to welcome back our dear little Liddell." The Mad Hatter stepped in front of Liddell and knelt down before her. He then took her hand and kissed it, a very long awkward kiss at that. Liddell was frozen in place by shock and embarrassment. Kaguya looked uncomfortable as well. She took a side glance to Loue and saw that he was glaring at the Hatter with the most hateful look. He was probably going to take the guy's head off if he didn't let up soon. Finally the Hatter released his hold on her and stood. "I'm looking so forward to the show you put on for us this time but be warned Goth has not forgotten the last 1000 years. You may be the one to feel the full force of his rage."

"What does that mean?" Liddell asked getting seriously annoyed with the Mad Hatter's riddles.

"I'll let you figure it out yourself." He turned and strode past Loue. As he past he whispered. "Don't fret Loue. Maybe this time you'll be able to stop him before he takes another bite." Loue's eyes widened and he rounded on the Hatter but he had already vanished.

"That guy is still weird." Liddell said as she walked over to Loue. She looked at him and noticed him shaking slightly. "Hey what's up with you?" The sound of Liddell's voice brought Loue out of his trance. He smiled down at her and said.

"I'm fine. I just really hate that guy." He patted her on the head to distract her from him. It worked like a charm. She blushed and knocked his arm away.

"How many times to I have to tell you I don't like that!" Loue just smiled at her causing her to blush even more. "Stupid Loue, why does he have to look like that? It makes it hard to stay mad at him," she thought.

"Excuse me," Kaguya said interrupting Liddell's thoughts. "Shouldn't we be going now?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, of course. We're leaving right now." She pulled out the broom out and positioned herself on it, more towards the front of the broom than she normally does since she has to make room for a passenger. "Hop on princess." Kaguya looked over the broom a little uncertain as to how she should sit on it. She bundled her kimono up to her knees and sat sideways on the broom. She used one hand to keep her kimono in place and the other to grip the space of the broom between herself and Liddell.

"Ok I'm ready." Liddell turned to Loue, who transformed into his bat form and set himself upon her shoulder.

"Ok everyone on. Now we're off." The broom took off and sped through the air at top speed, which was a little too fast for Kaguya and Loue. Kaguya had to clutch the broom with both hands while the rest of her dangled in the air. Loue held on to Liddell's shoulder for dear life, feeling like his skin was going to pop off at any second. Both them could only think the same thing.

"Why did we let her talk us into this?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Desert Storm**

Liddell passed through the Florin gate and into the gate room. "See I told you I'd get us here in no time." She turned to find Kaguya on her hands and knees looking like she wanted to kiss the ground. Loue still had a death grip on Liddell's shoulder and was shaking like there was no tomorrow. "Oh come on it wasn't that bad. You're both acting like babies." Kaguya stood and smoothed out her kimono.

"Honestly Liddell you did not have to go that fast."

"But by going that fast I don't think we were even seen by anyone, and you can let go now," she said to Loue who was still shacking on her shoulder. He stopped shacking and quickly transformed into his human form, regaining his composure.

"Yes, the important thing is that we got the princess here safely. Princess Kaguya why don't you go head through that door and get yourself settled into the castle. Liddell and I will be back after we escort Princess Lyra."

"Very well, I will be awaiting your return." Kaguya left the gate room and proceeded into the castle.

"Well Liddell shall we…" he turned to Liddell to find that she was not next to him. Instead she was passing the gate leading to the desert kingdom. "Again, that girl has no patience," he said as he followed the young witch. When he entered the kingdom he was instantly bombarded with wind and sand. It was a desert storm and a big one at that. Loue could barely see a thing but he could make out a small form just a few steps away. It was Liddell, huddled in a ball trying not to blow away. Loue made his way over to her and knelt down next to her. "Are you alright?" he yelled trying to be heard over the wind.

"Yeah, but this wind keeps knocking me down. I can barely stand." Loue grab Liddell by the waist and helped her to stand. He then took off his cape and wrapped tightly around her.

"My cape has protective powers; it should shield you from the storm."

"Thanks but what about you?"

"Don't worry," he said and turned into his bat and went into Liddell's hand beneath the cloak. "Like this I'll be just fine." Liddell nodded and started walking east. She remembered that Lyra's castle was in the middle of a large rock. Once she found it she just had to follow it around until she found the castle. Despite the protection of Loue's cape she had to keep her head down, which made it hard to see. After what felt like hours Liddell's head bumped into something hard.

"OW!" She looked up and saw a large rock. "This should be it." She started to follow the rock until she hit a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a castle. We found it." She ran up to the door and pushed it open. She rushed inside and slammed the door shut. She released Loue, who then transformed back into himself. She removed the cloak and shook off all the sand. "Whew, I didn't think we'd ever get here."

"It was a challenging walk," said Loue.

"Only thing is because of that stupid storm I can't use my broom to get us out of here."

"Thank the heavens," Loue muttered but Liddell heard him anyway and shot him a venomous glare. "I mean too bad and it was such a great plan too." She wacked Loue with her umbrella and he shrunk back from her.

"You're so full of it," she said and huffed past him. She started to head for Lyra's throne room which was a little difficult because technically this is the first time she has ever had to walk there. After a few wrong turns she finally found it. When she entered she saw Lyra gazing out the window. "Lyra," she said to get her attention. She turned and saw Liddell and Loue in her room.

"Hello, how wonderful to see you both again."

"It's good to see you too. Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm just fine. How are the two of you? I'm sure the storm caused you great difficulty."

"Oh it was nothing, but how did the monsters cause this storm in the first place?"

"It wasn't the monsters it was me." Both Liddell and Loue stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm sorry I must have sand in my ears. Did you say that _you_ started the storm?"

"To be more specific it was my guardian." She walked over to a small table next to her throne. On the table was a golden lamp that Liddell recognized.

"Doesn't that belong to Al'Sahara's first princess?" Lyra picked up the lamp and faced them.

"That's right. After you left I found this in one of the caves near the castle. After awhile I managed to convince him to become my guardian. Then when the monsters started to attack my kingdom, I asked him to create a storm so powerful that it would sweep the monsters away and conceal my castle at the same time."

"Great plan I bet those monsters thought twice before messing with you."

"They've certainly become less of a nuisance."

"Although, this storm does cause problems for our own plan for escape. What do you say to letting up the storm so I can fly us out of here on my broom?"

"Fly out on your broom?" She looked behind Liddell over to Loue. He was waving his arms and shaking his head mouthing no. As casually as she could Lyra said, "You know the storm has done so well in protecting us so far I don't want to jinx anything by letting it go now. So how about we tread through it and just have my guardian protect us from it."

"Ok I'll settle for that," said Liddell. Loue breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great I'll grab my things and we will be on our way." Lyra pulled a bag and a cloak from behind her throne. She put the bag on her shoulder then put on the cloak pulling the hood over her head. She grabs the lamp and proceeded over to Liddell and Loue. "Before I forget, this is for you Liddell." She opened her hand and revealed her sigil.

"Thanks Lyra," said Liddell. After Liddell put the sigil away, the group started to head for the door. Before heading out Lyra summoned her genie and Loue gave Liddell his cape before transforming back into a bat and settling into her hand.

"When we leave the castle stay close to my guardian, he will protect us from the storm and guide us through. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, we're all set." They headed out and were instantly hit by wind and sand. It didn't last long until they were shielded by the genie's hands and arms. With the genie leading the way back to the gate room, Loue took the opportunity to inform Liddell and Lyra on what would happen next.

"When we reach the gate room you can rest up for awhile before heading to the next the kingdom."

"That's good. I could really use a shower to get all this sand out of my hair."

"Have you saved any other princesses?" asked Lyra.

"Yes," answered Loue. "So far we have only managed to get Kaguya but after Liddell rests up we will be heading for Oceria to save Aquell." When they reached the gate room entrance Lyra turned to her guardian.

"Thank you for guiding us here. Please keep the kingdom safe in my absence." With that they passed through the gate.


	6. Chapter 6

**Vampire's Mark**

Liddell finished drying off her hair and wrapped a towel around her head. She put on a black robe she had found and exited the bathroom. When they had returned from Al'Sahara the first thing she did was go to the bathroom for a well deserved shower. She walked down the hall on her way to the room she was given but when she reached the door there was someone already in front it. Loue was waiting for Liddell with his eyes closed and leaning against the door. He looked up when he heard Liddell approach.

"Did you have a nice a shower?" he asked giving her his usual smile.

"Yeah it was. I'm surprised a place like this has warm running water."

"This castle may be old but it still has the primary functions one would find in any modern home." He opened her door for her and gesture for her to go inside. She stepped through the door and into the bedroom. She took the towel off her head and squeezed the rest of the water off the ends of her hair. She sat down in front of the vanity mirror and started to brush out her hair.

"Mind telling me why you're here?" she asked not looking up at him.

"I wanted to check on you before going to bed."

"Do I look like someone who needs to be checked up on?"

"No, but part of my mission is to watch you so you're going to have to have to deal with it."

"Well if you're going to stay then you're going to answer my questions."

"Very well, what are your questions?"

"I want to know how Anne became Eld Witch in the first place. When I went into Florin's past I saw her there. She was friends with Repunzel, she loved the other kingdoms. So why did she become Eld Witch and destroy everything?"

"The thing you have to understand Liddell is that all of that took place when Anne was still a young princess. She did get along with everyone and greatly admired the beauty that was in each kingdom. Then came the day she had to take the throne. When that happened her time was solely dedicated to her kingdom. The underground kingdom was always a dark and dreary place. There's no sunlight, no moonlight, no plant life, and no beauty at all. Over the years Anne became corrupted by the darkness. She started to hate the other kingdoms for having everything that her kingdom didn't. So she declared war on the other kingdoms and destroyed everything in her path. Then as you know was when Queen Alice came and sealed her away."

"I see, so tell me this. Are you and Anne related?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Well you both have silver hair and red eyes so why wouldn't I think the two of you related?"

"Silver hair and red eyes are common traits for people from the underground kingdom. Goth also has these traits."

You're from the underground?" she asked surprised.

"Yes but I didn't agree with Anne about the war so I betrayed my kingdom and sided with Alice?"

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't think it was that big of deal"

"Do you have any other secrets I should know about? Do I need to know how you became a vampire or how you got stuck with Eld Witch guard duty? Care to share any of these things?

"First off I was born a vampire and I volunteered to be Eld Witch's guard. I'm not trying to keep secrets from you Liddell. There are things in my past I'm not ready to talk about." Liddell put down the brush and stood.

"I'm going to check on the princesses?"

"Liddell…"

"I don't care about your secrets, I was just curious. Don't make such a big deal of it." She left the room leaving Loue alone. He watched her go then let out a sigh and left for the coffin room.

Liddell walked down the hall on her way to the room Kaguya and Lyra were sharing. She meant what she said before. She really did not care about knowing Loue's secrets. She just figured that as his partner she was entitled to know certain things, like where he was from. She found the room she was looking for and knocked on the door. "Come in," she heard a voice say. Liddell opened the door and went inside.

"Hey, I just wanted to check on you before going to bed."

"That's nice" said Kaguya. "Lyra and I were just discussing the Goth situation."

"To be honest we thought that Goth would carry on what Eld Witch set out to do and that was killing Queen Alice. However, it turns out that he just wants to finish what he was doing 1000 years ago," said Lyra.

"What was that?" asked Liddell.

"Apparently Goth had a sick habit of marking women who caught his interest," said Kaguya.

"Marking?"

"You never heard of the vampires' mark?" asked Lyra. Liddell shook her head no.

"Well," started Kaguya. "When a vampire falls in love with someone they bite them on the neck to leave a mark. When that happens, the person who got the mark doesn't turn into a vampire but they do become immortal like a vampire. They also stop aging. A vampire's mark has always been seen as symbol of true and eternal love, but Goth only sees it as a way to torture people."

"Usually a vampire only marks one in all of their existence, but Goth will mark any women he feels is interesting and then when he gets bored with them he would chopped their heads off and move on to the next girl. He was particularly known for marking women that were already truly in love with someone else, just so he can cause them emotional pain," explained Lyra.

"Do you remember Taro and Ohana from Florin?" asked Kaguya.

"Yeah I do," answered Liddell. "Taro wanted me to give Ohana a bellflower to show that he still loved her."

"Well Goth was responsible for their break up. He saw how much in love the two were and decided to break them apart by marking Ohana as his new love. Taro was enraged by this and tried to fight Goth for Ohana's release but he was no match for him and was struck down instantly."

"That's horrible. What gives him the right to do such a thing?" exclaimed Liddell.

"He simply just doesn't care. If it wasn't for his betrayal to Eld Witch that got him sealed away who knows what would have happened."

"Speaking of which, what did he do to piss off Eld Witch anyway?"

"Well according to the rumors Goth tried to mark one of Eld Witch's daughters."

Loue was making his way to his coffin for some rest but when he got there he found three unwelcomed guest sitting on it. The Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Cheshire Cat were sitting on top of Loue's coffin looking smug and all knowing as ever.

Ah Loue there you are," said the Hatter. "We were wondering when you would show up. Spending time with your dear little witch I take it."

"What are the three of you doing here?" asked Loue trying to keep his temper in check. "Haven't I had enough for one evening?"

"We are merely here to check in on you," said the Hare.

"Check in on me? What don't you trust me?"

"Of course we do Loue'" said the Hatter. "However, Queen Alice is concerned, given your 'history' with Goth she fears you may lose focus."

Well you can tell Queen Alice that she has nothing to worry about. Losing focus is what cost me 1000 years ago and I don't plan on making the same mistake twice. I'm keeping my focus where it is important."

"Good to know. We'll take our leave now." The three hopped off the coffin and walked down the stairs like they were going to leave but stopped and faced Loue once more.

"Actually there is one more thing that we need to press upon," said the cat.

"What's that?" asked Loue wearily.

"Do try to behave yourself when it comes to Liddell. We really don't need a repeat of the incident at Liddell's school." Loue blushed and gritted his teeth. Glaring at the cat he stomped on his tail. The cat screeched and took off running down the hallway.

"That wasn't my fault!"

"One of Liddell's classmates going crazy because he thought a red eyed monster was trying to kill him and you don't think that's your fault," said the Hare.

"I was only doing my job. I had every reason to believe that boy to be a threat to Liddell."

"How is getting asked out on a date a threat?"

"It just is. Goodnight!" Loue jumped inside his coffin and slammed it shut as the Cheshire Cat was coming back the room.

"Crazy love struck vampire," said the cat then they disappeared.

**So how am I doing? I haven't really been getting a lot of reviews for this story. I didn't think I would care about so much about getting reviews but now I see why they're so welcomed. So plz read and review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so sorry for the long wait. My computer caught a virus, a little tip to everyone renew your anti-virus immediately. I had to get my computer fixed and ended up getting a whole new hard drive, which means all of my writings are gone. Luckily I write everything down in a journal so it wasn't a heartbreaking loss so much as it's just annoying. Well anyways I'm back and ready to continue.**

**Love is in the Ocean**

Liddell woke up early the next morning eager to get on with her mission. She started to make her way to the coffin room to get Loue. When she got there she found him still asleep in his coffin looking so content. She did not like that at all. "So how to wake sleeping beauty here?" she said. Then she remembered her first meeting with Loue and how he was sleeping peacefully in his coffin until a well placed bomb brought him out of dream land. With a mischievous smile on her face she went to the weapon room.

She didn't find a bomb but she did find firecrackers. She lit five of them then threw them into Loue's coffin and shut the lid behind them. "Fire in the hole!" she yelled and stepped back. Suddenly popping sounds were heard coming from inside the coffin and with each loud pop the coffin lid jumped up and down. When the popping settled down the lid closed on the coffin once again only to be slowly opened by a scorched and pissed off vampire.

Loue slowly leaned up from his coffin. His shin was covered in scorch marks, his clothes had burn holes in them, and his hair had a slight trail of smoke coming from it. Liddell couldn't contain herself and burst into laughter at the sight of him. Loue on the other hand was not amused.

"You think this is funny? What in the world were you thinking!" he yelled down at the young witch.

"I'm sorry but I had to wake you up somehow and since an explosion work last time I figured it would work this time too," she said trying to catch her breath from her laughing fit.

"So, you thought it would be a good idea to set the explosion off _inside _my coffin!"

"Well, I did think that setting it off near your coffin would be just as effective but then I thought that setting it off in your coffin would be funnier and it was. Besides it was firecrackers not a bomb."

He continued to glare at her while wiping the ash from his clothes. Liddell stopped laughing and caught her breath. After she wiped a tear from her eye, she stood and faced Loue. "So now that you're all woken up, let's get going to the next kingdom." She dashed down the hall and to without him again. He got to the gate room and to his surprise found that she was still there. She turned to him and asked "Which kingdom were we going to?"

"Oceria," he said casually.

"Oh," Liddell said a little disappointed. She knew she was going to have to see Aquell sooner or later, she was hoping for the later. Thinking of Aquell made Liddell think back to the last thing Aquell said to her.

"_I'm certainly not going to forget her; we are in competition for Loue's affections."_

Crazy love struck mermaid. What gave her the right to insinuate that she would want anything to do with Loue? Sure they hang out a lot. So what. It's really more of a work thing. This is way more than what he has with Aquell. The guy saved your life once, get a clue already.

"Liddell, aren't we going?" Loue asked snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, let's go," she replied and stepped through the gate to the ocean kingdom. Oceria looked the same from last time, at least on the surface. "Do we just dive in or wait for the welcome wagon?"

"We have to go in the same way as last time."

"Alright let's get this over with." She walked on the water like she did before and headed over to the spot that led down to Oceria. They got to the spot and were immediately taken to the kingdom. After falling on her bottom, again, Liddell pushed herself off the ground and brushed off her skirt. She looked around and noticed that Loue wasn't around. "Loue," she called out.

"Right here," he answered. She turned and found him in his bat form flapping about.

"Did you even hit the ground before transforming?"

"No, I transformed as I was falling."

"I see, and it didn't occur to you to CATCH ME!" she said bearing down on him with a glare.

"Well, it all happened so fast that I didn't have time to catch you." Liddell didn't say anything. Instead she huffed past him and continued on her way. Loue let out a sigh of relief."At least she didn't hit me," he muttered and then after transforming back into himself, he went after her. He found her at the end of the path looking around like she was debating where to go. "Do you remember the way to the castle?"

"Of course I do. I was only thinking about which way would be faster. If we cut through the jellyfish's house that should put us the closest, right?"

"That sounds right. After all it does exit into Oceria's underwater section."

"Good, although I'm not looking forward to holding my breath." On their way o the jellyfish's house, Liddell decided to take the opportunity to pry more answers from Loue. "I had an interesting conversation with the princesses last night."

"Did you?"

"Yep, they taught me about vampire markings." She studied his face for any sort of reaction. He kept his usual composure but she could have she saw a slight twitch.

"Really. That's an interesting topic. How did that conversation get started," he said with some irritation in his voice.

"Well, I was curious about Goth's agenda for the princesses and they said it was because he was looking for a new bride to mark."

"That does seem to be the obvious case. He was well known for marking women against their wills. Vampires are only supposed to mark the one woman they are truly in love with and the love between the two must be mutual and eternal. It's not to be used as way of torture," he said with his rage building.

"I was told that he would mark women who were already in love with someone else. Just so he could keep the two apart."

"That's right. He didn't care about anyone but himself. All he cared about was causing pain, both physical and emotional."

"I haven't met this guy and already I hate him. Although he better hope he doesn't meet me or else he's going to know what it's like to get his head chopped off. Why would he chop off their heads?"

"Taking out the head is the only way to kill an immortal being. Any other injuries would heal or regenerate. Something you should keep in mind for your future battle."

They arrived at the jellyfish's home and before they passed through it completely Liddell worked up the nerve to ask her final question to Loue. "Have you ever wanted to mark someone?"

Loue stopped and his eyes grew sad but he turned his head away from her. "No, there has never been anyone I want to mark," he said quietly and continued walking.

Liddell decided to let the matter drop. Then to change the subject she said, "Hey, have you noticed that the jellyfish aren't here? Now that I think about it I haven't seen anyone around."

"Aquell probably moved her citizens to a hidden location for their safety."

"Hmm, who would've thought that Aquell would do something so responsible?"

"Don't let her spoil attitude fool you. There is a reason that Aquell is the princess to begin with."

"You mean it's not because she gets to wear a pretty crown." Loue let out a small chuckle.

"That does sound like her but she is a capable princess none the less." They exited into the underwater portion and found it to be a total war zone. Skeleton pirates were everywhere striking down anyone who stood in the path. Aquell's soldiers were trying desperately to defend their kingdom, but they were vastly outnumbered. Liddell didn't waste a moment and pulled out her spell book.

"Since we're underwater the thunder rune should take out everyone here."

"True, but you'll be taking out the good guys as well as the bad."

"Then you go and gather everyone and take cover while I charge up the spell." Loue left and gathered the soldiers. Liddell stepped back into the jellyfish's home just enough to put her on try ground. She started charging her spell; she needed to make this the biggest lightning strike ever. She looked and saw Loue giving her the go ahead for the spell. She nodded at him then fired thunder spell into the water. As soon as it the water it electrocuted every monster with as much as a drop of water on it. When everything cleared there wasn't even a pinky toe left on those skeletons. Liddell stepped back into the water just as Loue and the others were coming out of their hiding places. "That's why I'm the greatest witch there is," she said praising herself.

Loue rolled his eyes at her ego but then he noticed movement in the sand behind her. From the sand sprung a pirate skeleton with his sword raised and aimed at the witch's heart. "Liddell!" yelled Loue as he ran towards her. Liddell turned and saw the sword coming at her. Before anyone could react, something shot out from a nearby cavern with great speed. Then slammed into the pirate, shattering it to pieces on impact. Liddell dropped to her knees and let out the breath she was holding. Loue came to her side and knelt down to her. He saw that she was slightly shaken but otherwise alright. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine but who saved me?"

"I did toots," said a voice. They looked up and saw Sammy the Shark looming over them. Liddell groaned this was the last fish she ever wanted to run into.

"Thanks Sammy," she said as she stood.

"No problem. I'm not about to let anything happen to my little pearl," he said as he nuzzled Liddell's side.

"Ewww," groaned Liddell, backing away from him and into Loue. Her face was red from both embarrassment and anger. "I thought you said last time that you were over me."

"I was but then I changed my mind. I'm fickle that way."

"Liddell we should get going to the castle while the path is clear," Loue said.

"Right, well Sammy it was nice seeing you again but we got to go."

"Then allow me to be your escort," Sammy said pushing in between Liddell and Loue. "I will protect you from any harm." Then in a whisper he added, "Certainly better than a washed up old timer vampire can." It didn't make a difference because Loue heard him any way.

"Excuse me, washed up old timer! I'll have you know I'm in the best shape of my eternal life. I can protect Liddell without your help."

"Oh really then how come you didn't take out that monster. In fact I don't think I've seen you fight in all the years I've known you."

"Just because you haven't seen me fight doesn't mean I can't."

"Do I get a say in this?" Liddell piped in.

"No," the two said in unison then went back to arguing.

Liddell was getting sick of this. She was more than capable of taking care of herself. She decided to go ahead without them; she had bratty princess to get anyway. She was about to turn the corner to the castle when she suddenly had the feeling she was being watched. She stopped and looked around. She didn't see anything but still had that feeling. When she turned again she landed face first into the Mad Hatter's chest.

"Agitated are we?"

"Oh great it's you. I should've known that you were the one watching me."

"Silly girl we always have our eyes on you, however, you will never _feel_ our eyes on you."

"So I will never have the feeling I'm being watched by you guys."

"Then who was watching me just now?"

"Liddell," she heard a voice call. She turned and saw Loue coming towards her. "I really wish you would stop running off by yourself"

"I can take care of myself." She was really starting to get sick of Loue's protective attitude.

"I know you can but that doesn't stop me from worrying." Liddell blushed; she didn't know Loue felt so strongly about her safety. Loue looked from Liddell to see the Mad Hatter standing before them. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just passing through on my way to check on our poor friend Cheshire Cat."

"Something happened to the cat?" asked Liddell.

"Yes, he suffered a devastating injury to the tail bone."

"How did that happen?"

Loue grabbed Liddell by the arm and started pulling her in the direction of the castle. "It's nothing Liddell. He's just fine. It's just the tail after all." Loue shot a glare back the hatter and mouthed "leave." Strangely enough the Mad Hatter obliged and disappeared without another word.

"What was that about?" Liddell asked Loue.

"Nothing, he's just being weird like always." Liddell shrugged her shoulders and went into the castle. As they continued to the throne room; Liddell suddenly remembered something.

"Hey, wasn't Sammy with you?"

"Yes; but I convinced him that there was a better place for him to be."

"Where was that?"

"Oh nowhere special," he said nonchalantly then wouldn't say anymore. Meanwhile, the shark spoken of was currently trying to unwedge his head from the narrowest cavern in the sea. "_Teach him to call me weak,_" Loue thought to himself. When they finally reached the door to the throne room, they had barely opened it a crack when it was suddenly thrown open and Loue was tackled to the ground.

"Oh Loue! I knew you would come for me," exclaimed the mermaid with a choking hold on Loue.

"Nice to see you too," he choked out.

"I knew you never let another man have me. You have no idea how worried I've been. Never knowing when that horrible man would show up and take me away from you forever; but you're here now and no other man would dare to come near me." She hugged Loue even harder and planted kisses all over his face. Loue blushed and made a futile struggle against the princess. He looked over to where Liddell was and his eyes widened in fear. Liddell was standing there with her fist clenched around her umbrella and glared at the two on the ground with an irritating twitch in her eye. She looked ready to commit a murder. Liddell took a deep breath and seemed to visibly relax. She loudly cleared her throat to get attention. Aquell looked up and finally noticed Liddell. "Oh, you're here too," she said not even bothering to hide her distain at Liddell's presence.

"Yeah, I'm here too," Liddell said matching her tone with Aquell's.

"I'm sure you are no doubt dragging poor Loue into your problems again."

"Excuse me! It's more like you're the one dragging him into problems. Once again you're the damsel in distress that everyone has to come safe."

"You say that like I should be insulted. You see Liddell, if a princess is not in distress then how will she ever find her knight." She turned her gaze to Loue and gave him a flirty smile. Loue sweated nervously and glanced away from her. "Besides in case you've forgotten Loue has saved my life before that proves we are destined to be together."

"Well I guess there's no arguing with that logic. Is that true Loue, you save a princesses' life and now you have to marry them. Cause if so then apparently I have about six engagements lined up."

"Now ladies we can figure out who has to marry who another time but we are on a schedule here. So Aquell, why don't you grab your bag and your sigil and we will escort you to the castle." The two girls continued to glare at each other until Aquell snap her fingers to summon her guardian. The octopus slid into the room carrying one giant suitcase on each arm.

"That's what you're bringing," screamed Liddell. "You're only going to be staying for one night."

"We have no idea how long this is going last. A girl needs to be prepared."

"All the same at least one suitcase should be enough to suffice," stated Loue.

"Yeah so pick one and get your finny butt in gear," said Liddell. Aquell turned toward Liddell and was about to say something to her but Loue stepped in between them.

"Please Aquell we are on time schedule after all," he said putting on his charming smile for her.

"Anything for you Loue," she said and went over to her guardian to decide which of her suitcases to bring.

"Anything for you Loue," mocked Liddell. "You must feel so special when you're around her."

"Not really. Whenever I'm around her I mainly feel uncomfortable."

"Really," she said as an evil smile crossed her face. "I think I'll leave princess fish butt to you for the moment. I'm going to scout ahead and make sure the way is clear."

"You're going to what!"

"You heard me. Try not to take too long and I'll meet you on the beach later and make sure she brings the sigil." She walked toward the front gate leaving Loue with a dumbstruck look on his face. When she left the palace she immediately mounted her broom and headed for the gate. She broke the surface and touch ground on the beach.

It didn't make sense to her. The last time she was here she found Aquell flirting as a way to annoy Loue. Now she's the one getting annoyed. She couldn't possibly be jealous of Aquell could she? It's not like Loue returned Aquell's affection but still maybe leaving the two alone together wasn't her wisest move. That's when she felt again, the feeling that she was being watched. She looked around but saw nobody. The feeling was a lot stronger this time, like the person was closer to her. She looked up at the cliff next her and thought she saw movement.

She was about to get on her broom to see who it was when Loue and Aquell came up on the beach. Loue was carrying a large suitcase as his whole body. He dropped the suitcase and tried to catch his breath while Aquell rambled on about something. He looked up and saw Liddell staring up at the cliff. He walked over to her, leaving an oblivious Aquell talking to herself.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah, just a weird feeling that's all." She stared at the top of the cliff for another second then turned away from it. "Let's get out of here." She walked over to where Aquell's luggage was and lifted it with a levitation spell. "Come on princess."

"Huh? Oh okay," Aquell said following after her. Loue followed after them and then all three passed through the gate. When they all had left a figure appeared on the beach. He wore a cape around his body and had long silver hair that came passed his shoulders, some of it covered the left side of his face slightly covering his eye. His red piercing eyes were narrowed and focused on the gate the witch and her friends passed through.

"So that's the little witch who took down the old hag. Ah, Loue you always were attracted to the most interesting of women." He licked his lips and ran his tongue along his long fangs. "I can't wait to make her mine."

**Wow that was long but I finally got it done. The next kingdom will be Dorothy's and I have zero ideas of what to do for it. I know what I'm doing for the ice and candy kingdom but I got nothing for the machine kingdom. So I'm going to try and have my next update by the end of this month or February. Again I'm sorry for the long wait.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm back and with a new name. I got sick of the old and I didn't want to change my pretty angel picture. Anyways to make up for the long wait I'm giving you two chapters. Enjoy.**

**Is the Giant Robot Necessary?**

The witch, the vampire, and the princess entered the gate room. Liddell released her spell on the suitcase, letting it fall to the floor with a thud.

"Careful!" Aquell exclaimed rushing over to her bag. "I have some fragile stuff in there."

"Oh I am so sorry. I didn't realize you had such breakable stuff in your bag. Here's a little tip for the future; the next time you want to keep your stuff from getting broken…DON'T PACK IT!"

The two girls glared at each other and their violent auras filled the room. Loue thought this would be a good time to step in before they killed each other. "Aquell, why don't you go ahead and take your stuff to your room?"

"Which room am I in?"

"You'll be in the room across from Kaguya and Lyra. It's up the stairs, on the hallway to your left and three doors down. Got it?"

"Actually no could you show me yourself," she said in her most flirty voice trailing her fingers up Loue's arm.

"He's busy," interrupted Liddell. "The other two princesses didn't have any trouble finding their rooms and neither will you." Aquell glared at Liddell for a brief second before turning on the puppy dog eyes.

"But I'm horrible with directions. How about Loue stays here with me and give me the grand tour while you go somewhere that isn't here."

Liddell clenched her fist over her umbrella. This chick was asking for it. "Look princess…"

"Aquell!" came a voice from across the room. They turned to see Kaguya and Lyra standing at the gate room's entrance.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Lyra with a big sister scolding look on her face.

"I was just getting Loue to show me around."

"Loue and Liddell have a mission to do. They don't have time to be giving tours. Kaguya and I will show you to your room," said Lyra. Then she walked over to Aquell's suitcase, lifted it with one hand and slung it over her shoulder with no trouble at all. "Now come on." She headed toward the door with a reluctant Aquell trailing behind her. Kaguya gave Liddell and Loue a wink before following after them.

"That was easy," said Liddell. "I thought for sure that Aquell would continue to pitch a fit."

"No one argues with Lyra," said Loue. "Shall we continue?"

"Yep, I want to be done with this next kingdom by lunch." Liddell and Loue went through the gate that led to Artis, the machine kingdom. Upon entering the kingdom, the duo found everything to be a little off. The entrances that led inside had chains on them, the large clock in middle had been outfitted with spikes and cannons, and …oh yeah there was now a gigantic metal robot, the size of a skyscraper, at the entrance.

"I think Dorothy's lost her mind," said Liddell.

"Should I have mentioned that Dorothy has refused all outside help and is determined to handle this matter herself."

"You could've mentioned it in passing."

"HALT! IDENTIFY! IDENTIFY!" said the giant robot while it extended its arms and brought out its guns. When the robot's lasers targeted Liddell and Loue they instantly reacted. By jumping into each other's arms and screaming their heads off.

"Now just hold on a minute," started Liddell in a shaky voice. "We're not your enemies. We're here to rescue your princess."

The robot's eyes started to glow then rays of light came out of its eyes and washed over Liddell and Loue. "SCANNING! SCANNING! SUBJECTS IDENIFIED! SUBJECT ONE: LIDDELL, ANNOYING WITCH! SUBJECT TWO: LOUE, ANCIENT VAMPIRE!"

"Annoying," muttered Liddell. "Ancient," muttered Loue.

"NO THREAT DETECTED! WELCOME TO ARTIS! ENOJOY YOUR STAY AND HAVE A NICE DAY!"

The robot retracted is guns and resumed his previous guard position. Both Liddell and Loue sighed then noticed that they were still holding on to each other. Liddell blushed and pushed Loue away. "Let's go. I officially have a few choice words for the paranoid princess." Liddell started off into Artis muttering 'I am not annoying,' under her breath.

Actually getting into Artis was proving to be a bit more difficult than planned. With all the doors shut and having chains on them no one was going anywhere fast.

"She did this on purpose," grumbled Liddell. "She knew we were coming and she is trying to keep us out."

"I think I may have found a way in," said Loue. "Unfortunately it's farther away from the throne room than you wanted."

Liddell let out an exhausted sigh. "Well a far way is better than no way. Lead the way."

Loue led her to the door on the far right from the entrance. "Since this door opens by charging the lightning rod in front of it you just have to hit it with your thunder spell and it should open. Plus the chains are far enough apart for you to slip through."

"It'll do," Liddell said. She then prepared her thunder spell then shot it at the lightning rod. Just like before the doors automatically opened. Liddell crawled through the chains and entered the room with the generator in it. Loue turned into a bat and followed close behind her. "Alright let's get going."

The two started down the maze of hallways that would eventually take them to Dorothy's throne room. Soon enough the duo came across the hallway with the spikes on the floor. "You've got to be kidding me," groaned Liddell as she saw the spikes. The spikes were twice as long and twice as sharp then they were the last time.

"I guess walking across them like last time is out of the question?" asked Loue.

"Are you kidding me? If I try to walk across these I'll impale myself. Screw this. We're flying over this death trap." She then took out her broom and mounted it. Loue, still in his bat form, planted himself on the tip of the broom. They soar over the spikes, while also being careful of the ceiling.

"I'm sure by this point you are aware that convincing Dorothy to come with us is not going to be an easy task."

"Don't worry your silver vampire head Loue. I already have a plan to deal with her should she prove to be difficult," she said with her evil smirk.

"You're not going to punch her again are you?"

"No, of course not," she said putting on an innocent looking face. "I was not planning anything of the sort." Continuing to fly about the castle the duo finally came to Dorothy's castle. Liddell dismounted the broom and Loue reverted back into his human form. "Let's get this over with. The sooner we get done here the sooner we can take a break," Liddell said as she walked into the castle.

"You are aware that you still have two more kingdoms after this," said Loue as he followed.

"Of course; but I figured that since Goth is doing all this to obtain a new bride we've got some time to kill. No offense to the siblings but I don't think that Hansel and Gretel are at the top of Goth's list for a trophy wife."

"That's true. They are pretty young in comparison to the other princesses."

"Great. Then we grab Dorothy, head back to your castle, take a little break, and later on get the other two princesses. Ha I'll be done with this mission by nightfall."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Sometimes when things seem the easiest is when they get the hardest."

"Will you stop being so negative. I am capable of…" she trailed off as a faint buzzing sound was heard. Suddenly five large buzz saws came up from the floor. "Are you serious?," said Liddell as she dodged the first saw.

"You have to admit her ideas are pretty creative," said Loue as he rolled out of the way of another buzz saw.

"No, I don't," she said finally clearing the last of the buzz saws and making her way to the narrow hallway with Loue right behind her. They entered the room with the floating tiles and immediately jumped on the closest one. "Ok we should be fine now."

Unfortunately they weren't. Just when it look like the heroes would get a breather different panels on the wall started opening up and released numerous spiked orbs that were suspended in the air.

"Oh crap," moaned Liddell as the orbs instantly honed in on her and Loue. In order to avoid them Liddell and Loue had to keep jumping from panel to panel.

"I… am…going…to…KILL HER!" Liddell yelled between jumps. Then finally after charging through a few other traps, consisting of trap doors, spikes jutting from the walls, and what Liddell could only describe as a pack of wild mechanical dogs, Liddell and Loue made it to Dorothy's throne room.

Deciding to skip the pleasantries, Liddell barged into the room and fixed a glare on to the princess. Dorothy merely looked up nonchalantly and scoffed, "I could have sworn that I said I didn't want any help."

"Well we decided not to listen," Liddell said in her usual cocky tone. "I don't know where you get off thinking you can handle this matter on your own but guess what princess such an attitude doesn't fly with me. I have a mission to do and unfortunately it involves you. Now grab your sigil, get on the broom, and shut up."

Dorothy looked as if she was considering Liddell's order but then simply replied, "No," in a matter of fact tone.

"NO!" yelled Liddell.

"Why should I leave _my_ kingdom when I have everything I need to stay safe right here?"

"Princess Dorothy I must intervene," said Loue in calm business tone. "Despite the defense you've built up around your kingdom I don't think it will be enough to stop Goth."

"In other words your metal death traps out there aren't going to do squat."

"Oh really and what makes you think your castle is any safer than mine? If Goth is capable of going anywhere, then what makes you think that you can keep him out?"

"Because no one can enter my castle without going through the gate room first and no one can exit the gate room without my permission," stated Loue.

"I can vouch for that," said Liddell remembering the first time she went into that room.

"As for Queen Alice's kingdom no one can enter there until the gate is opened by the sigils. You know all of this already so why are you being so difficult."

"Because I'm not going to take any chances when it comes to that vampire. There is no way I'm going to set one foot out of the safety of my home and risk getting marked by a psycho. Heck I'm not going to risk going through the marking process period!"

"Process?" inquired Liddell. She didn't think there was a process to getting marked. She thought it was just a bite and then poof you're immortal. Also why was Dorothy acting like it meant the end of the world?

"Princess Dorothy, I'm sorry to say this but you have no grounds for an argument here. Queen Alice has already given the order and it states that all princesses are to come with Liddell and me to my castle for their own protection. You can argue with me all you want but you cannot argue with Queen Alice herself."

"You may have point about that Loue. However, I'm still not leaving." She turned her back on the two before saying. "Besides I'm not leaving my security to some shrimp wannabe witch and her pet bat."

That did it.

"And furthermore…" BAM! Dorothy's words were cut short when Liddell came up behind the girl and hit her on the side of her head with her umbrella, instantly knocking the princess unconscious.

"Liddell!"

Before Loue could lecture her she said, "You said I couldn't punch her, but you didn't say I couldn't knock her out. Besides she was being difficult and we don't have time to argue."

"Still it's never smart to hit royalty."

"Oh please it's not like I hit Queen Alice," she said as she dragged Dorothy's body over toward him. She took out her broom and draped the princess across and then mounted herself on it. "Get on," she said to Loue.

Knowing it was best not to argue with her, Loue transformed into a bat and sat on Liddell's shoulder. Liddell flew the broom out the window and towards the gate room. The giant robot waved goodbye as they passed overhead.


	9. Chapter 9

**Another Intermission**

Liddell dropped down onto her bed with a thud. She had managed to drag back Dorothy with little difficulty and put her in her room to sleep off her concussion. She had just finished eating lunch with Loue and the princesses and was relaxing in her room. She only had a couple of hours before she had to get back to work. She found herself thinking back to what Dorothy said about marking. She made it sound like it was the worst thing a person could go through, but Kaguya and Lyra made it sound like the most romantic thing in the world.

Well Dorothy has always had a different way looking at things in comparison to the other princesses. She was about to drift off to sleep when she heard tapping on her window. She looked up to see a bat form Loue at her window flapping his little wings waiting for her to let him in. With an irritated sigh she got off the bed and went over to the window. When she opened the window he swooped right in and took his human form, he then fell to the ground completely out breath.

"Ever hear of using a door?" she asked ignoring his gasp for air.

"Sorry, I was trying to lose Aquell. She has been pestering me since lunch. I finally lost her when I turned into bat and flew out an open window."

"You're such a wimp. Why don't you just tell the girl to leave you alone?"

"Oh wow, why didn't I think of that?" he said with sarcasm dripping off of every word. "Oh wait, I did! Many times! She refuses to listen. She claims there is no one better for me than her."

"I beg to differ," muttered Liddell.

"Pardon?" he asked not catching what she said.

"Nothing," she said quickly with a slight blush forming on her face. "Anyways you're welcome to hang out here till she gives up.

"I was planning to even without your permission."

She smirked at him and walked back to her bed and sat down. "You know I was expecting this mission to be harder but aside from some monsters here and there it's been relatively easy."

"I suppose it has been a little straightforward. I'm surprised Goth hasn't showed his face yet. With you stealing four of his potential brides I'd imagine he would be pretty pissed by now."

"Maybe he's scared of me and my awesome power. I mean I took down Eld Witch all on my own. I bet I look pretty intimidating to him."

"Your over confidence never ceases to amaze me."

"Thank you"

"It actually worries me more that he hasn't made a move yet. The longer he waits to make a move the bigger it will be when he makes it."

"Whether the move is big, little, or in between makes no difference to me, I'll still when in the end." Loue only sighed in response. It wasn't winning she should be concerned with. "Hey, since you're here I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Why did Dorothy make marking sound like something horrible? I thought it was something sickly romantic?"

Loue joined Liddell on the bed and sat across from her. "It is the concept of marking that is romantic. The idea of spending all of eternity with the one you love. However, the marking process, going from mortal to immortal, is actually a very painful experience."

"How?"

Loue reached over to Liddell, getting a little too close for Liddell's comfort, and removed her choker. He then pressed two fingers to the left side of her neck about one inch up from where her neck met her shoulder.

"Right here is where I would mark you. The first thing you are going to feel are my fangs biting into you. That will feel like getting stuck with a needle for your doctor. My fangs will remain in your neck until the process is done. Not long after you've been bitten you'll start to feel your body getting hot and it will continue to get hotter until you feel like your blood is boiling. After that you will feel a painful pressure numbing your body. You won't be able to move and to be frank you're not going to want to. You'll feel as if any movement will cause your bones to break. Only when the pain spreads throughout your whole body and increases to an unbearable level, will you finally pass out and you will remain asleep for three days." He removed his fingers as he finished talking.

"And when a wake up I'll be immortal," she said in slightly shaken voice and a slight blush tinting her cheeks.

"Yes, you will be immortal," he confirmed.

"Sounds like a lot to go through for immortality."

"Immortality is not the goal or the point of marking. During the marking process, a mystical bond is formed between the two involved. Even though you retain your own free will, you will be drawn to each other for reasons you can't explain. The place where you are bitten will forever be marked by a scar that will never fade. That mark will be sign to all that you have been claimed. You will forever be bonded to the vampire that marked you. That's why it is a sacred ritual between two lovers. If such a bond exist between the two already then nothing would really different after the marking process is done."

"So what happens to someone who is marked by a vampire they don't love?"

"They become depressed. Especially if there was someone they already loved before they were marked. They become so sad that soon they lose who they are. Then they're just a hollowed shell version of their old selves who wish for death."

"Is that what happened to Ohana after she was marked?"

"Yes, as it was with every woman Goth has marked. Goth has never once marked a woman out of love."

"Why does he do this?"

"Goth draws strength from the pain of others; as well as some entertainment. He is not someone you should worry yourself over trying to figure out. All you need to know is that he is a monster and like all monsters you have faced you are to destroy him."

"That's the smartest thing I've heard you say so far."

Loue smiled at her and patted her on the head. "Get some rest. We'll be heading for the ice kingdom in couple of hours." He got off the bed and headed toward the door.

"Loue," Liddell called as he opened the door.

"Yes," he answered.

"Don't worry about Goth so much; as long as I am here no princess is going to get marked."

He smiled at her at her and replied, "I don't doubt that." With that he walked out the door and shut it behind him. No sooner had the door clicked shut had the Mad Hatter's voice pierced Loue's ears.

"Awww, young vampire love is there any kind better."

"Shut up," Loue said as walked off in an attempt to escape him.

"Relax Loue, I'm only teasing you. Although I am curious about one thing?"

"What's that?" he asked as he continued to walk away from the hatter without bothering to turn around.

"If Liddell was ever marked by a vampire she does not love; what do you think she would do?"

That caused Loue to stop dead in his tracks. Still not turning around he answered, "Knowing Liddell she would probably kill herself." He walked on toward the coffin room, more determined to get away from the conversation.

When Loue was out sight the Mad Hatter commented, "And knowing you Loue you won't be far behind her."


	10. Chapter 10

**Intentions Revealed**

Liddell was already up and making her way towards the gate room to continue her mission. She had a very content map and felt very refreshed. The remaining two princesses she had to save were going to be a breeze. After she saves them all she had to do was dumped them down a hole to Queen Alice's kingdom. She arrived at the gate room and found it to be empty. Loue hadn't showed up yet. She sat down in the middle of the floor and waited for him.

This mission was going along faster than she expected it to. She arrived here just last night and already she had four princesses saved and she was about to save the remaining two. It made her wonder…what she was going to do with rest of her week. Suddenly terrorizing the school didn't seem as exciting to her anymore.

"I wonder if Loue would let me stay here?" she wondered out loud.

"It's fine with me," a voice said. Liddell turned around and saw Loue standing there with a coat draped over his arm. "In fact I would be delighted if you'd stayed."

"Really, you wouldn't mind even a little?"

"You may be a bit destructive, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy your company."

"I'll make you regret those words." She looked down at the coat on his arm. "What's that for?"

"This is for you," he said as he took the coat off of his arm and unfolded it for her to see. It was a long black fur coat that looked big enough to take over her entire body. "I didn't want you to get cold this time."

"Thank you," she said with a blush as he helped her in the coat. Despite the size of the coat it actually fit her very well. It was so comfortable that Liddell took a moment to enjoy the feel it. "It feels great. Are you ready to go?"

He nodded and the two went through the gate that led to the ice kingdom. When they got to the other side they found…nothing. No monsters, no crazy weather, and no signs of battle. It was a peaceful winter wonderland.

"What gives? I know you said this place wasn't receiving any heavy attacks but I was expecting at least something."

"I'm just as confused as you are. Last I heard this place was under attack."

"Well I'm not going to stress over this. No monsters means no worries."

Loue, however, was not as confident on the situation as Liddell was. He had heard from Princess Hansel herself that her kingdom was receiving minor attacks from monsters. They hadn't made it to her castle yet but the Intel said the monsters were causing chaos throughout the land. Now there was no one and no sign that they have even been here. He looked over to Liddell, who had stopped walking and was now standing in the middle of the field, looking around nervously.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I have that weird feeling again. The one I had in Oceria. I feel like I'm being by a pair of evil piercing eyes." Loue started looking around. He didn't see anyone but he did get a sense of uneasiness in the air.

"Let's keep going. The sooner we get the princess the sooner we can leave." He grabbed her hand and they walked on towards Hansel's castle. They got to the frozen lake and slid across it. When they got to the castle, the pair found Princess Hansel in her throne room looking slightly distressed. When she saw that the two had arrived, her mood seemed to lift.

"Miss Liddell and Mr. Loue, I'm so glad to see you. I trust you guys had no trouble getting here."

"Absolutely none," said Liddell. "Your kingdom is completely bare."

"Oh, so they really did leave."

"What do you mean?" asked Loue.

"One minute they were trying to get into the castle, the next they were gone. They suddenly left without warning."

"That's strange," said Liddell. "Why would they suddenly leave when they had the advantage?"

"I'm not sure but I sent out my guardian, the Ice Queen, to investigate. She should be back soon if you would like to wait for her."

"I don't think that's necessary. We were just out there and there was no one. I'm sure we'll be fine if we leave quickly enough," said Liddell.

"I'm not sure about this Liddell. Something didn't feel right out there," Loue interjected.

"We'll be fine. What could be out there that I can't handle." When Loue opened his mouth to argue again, Liddell cut him. "It's just monsters, Loue. I can handle monsters."

Then before anyone could say anything, Liddell was shuffling everyone out the door and outside. When the trio left the castle it wasn't long before were once again at the frozen lake.

"There's the mouth of the cave," said Liddell. She turned to Loue and said. "You go across first with Hansel and I'll follow shortly after you two."

"Alright," he answered. He reached his hand down to Princess Hansel. "Take my hand princess and I'll lead you across."

Hansel smiled and took his hand and together the two slid across the ice. When they got the mouth of the cave they stopped and waited for Liddell to join them.

Liddell started to slide across, but as she was half way through a violent tremor shook the cave. Liddell lost her footing on the ice and fell and slide into a rock, when she fell she lost both her spell book and umbrella. The tremor also caused the icicles on the ceiling to start falling. Hansel clutched to Loue's leg while he attempted to shield her with his cape. Liddell clung to the rock to keep herself from sliding around on the ground. Then the tremor stopped and when Liddell thought it was safe to look up she found that the icicles that had fallen had formed a perfectly straight line that cut Liddell off from Loue and Hansel.

"Liddell, are you alright?" yelled Loue.

"Yeah, I'm fine but I'm trapped. I lost the spell book so I don't have any magic to use on these icicles."

"Hold on. I'll come get you." Just before Loue step on the ice, Hansel grabbed onto his cape and pulled him back. "What's wrong?" he asked as he looked back down at her. Hansel's face was pale and her eyes were wide with fear. She raised a shaky finger and pointed towards Liddell.

"Behind…you," she said in whisper.

Liddell slowly looked behind her and saw a tall man hovering over the ice a few feet away. He had long silver hair and a cape. He lifted his face and Liddell saw the reddest eyes she has ever seen. They were even redder than Loue's, like they were made of blood.

"Hello, little witch," he said. His voice was smooth but also held some malice to it at the same time. He started coming towards her and she stood there like she was frozen to the ice. The thought to move hasn't even occurred to her yet. He stopped right in front of her and touched ground on the ice. "So you're the witch who took down the old hag and freed me from my crystal prison. I believe this puts me in your debt." He leaned down towards her and took her hand in his and kissed the back of it.

When his lips made contact with her skin, Liddell broke from her trance. She snatched her hand away and slapped the vampire across the face. "How dare you! Touching a girl you just met. You have a lot of nerve buddy."

The vampire wasn't fazed by Liddell's reaction; in fact he found it amusing. "Forgive my behavior I should've introduced myself first. My name is Goth and I am the vampire who has been attacking the kingdoms to get my new bride." He cupped her chin in his hand. "And now my search is done."

"Get your hands off of me before I break it off."

Goth just laughed at her. "With what power? I believe that is your spell book and umbrella on the other side of the barrier."

Liddell turned around and saw that Goth was right. Her spell book and umbrella were on the other side of the icicles. Great, now what was she going to do?

"And that's not all you've been cut off from." He stood up straight and called out. "Hello Loue, long time no see. It's been what, 1000 years since we've last seen each other. How have you been?" Loue didn't answer. Instead he glared at Goth with more hate than Liddell that possible for him. Even his fangs were longer and sharper. "You know that is no way to greet your mentor."

"Mentor?" Liddell asked.

"He didn't tell you? Well that's no surprise, he hates me very much. You see before Loue turned traitor he went through a combat training course taught by me. I trained him and taught him; helped mold him into the vampire he is today. Or at least the vampire he would be if it wasn't for that blasted noble honor of his. You just had to do the right thing, didn't you?"

"Is that a joke? You may have been my teacher but I owed you _nothing. _You were part of the reason I turned traitor in the first place."

"Are you still upset about that? It was 1000 years ago; get over it. So what if I marked and killed your girlfriend."

"What!" That came from Liddell. Loue had a girlfriend? He had told that there had never been a girl he wanted to mark.

"You two must not talk a lot. It's true though, back in the day Loue caught the eye of one of Eld Witch's daughters. Which one was it again? Oh! Now I remember it was plant rune princess, Rosen. The two of you had such fun together. This is why I couldn't resist marking her, especially since you had just informed me that you planned to leave the underground to join Queen Alice. Though I should have kept in mind that she was one of the old hags's daughters but no permanent harm just 1000 years of my life missing."

"That was your own fault you should have known what you did would have repercussions. Furthermore, don't act like I was the reason you marked Rosen in the first place, you had been dying to mark one of the princesses for years," stated Loue.

"True but you did help narrow down the decision. Anyways, it seems the past holds no value to you as it appears you have moved on." He looked down at Liddell and patted her head. "She is a cute little witch but could you not have chosen someone a bit older."

Liddell had heard enough. She slapped Goth's hand away and leaned back so they were making eye contact. "First of all only one person is allowed to touch my head and I don't even like it when he does it. Second I don't know where you got your facts but there is nothing romantic between me and Loue. We are partners and nothing more and even if we were, don't expect me to sit here like some good girl and let you mark me. If you try it even once I will bite, scratch, scream, kick, and punch. You got that?"

"I think so but I think you're forgetting something."

"What's that?"

Goth grabbed Liddell by the neck and lifted her in air. "That I am bigger, stronger, and faster than you are. Plus I always get what I want." He started moving his head closer to her neck. Liddell struggled as much as she could but wasn't strong enough to push Goth away.

Suddenly Loue broke through the icicle barrier and tackled Goth causing him to drop Liddell to the ground. He pinned Goth to the opposite wall. "I am not the same as I was 1000 years ago. If you harm Liddell I will not hesitate to kill you."

"As if you could."

Goth pushed Loue off with ease. Loue stepped back but before he could recover and retaliate Goth came at him with a hard punch to the stomach. Loue doubled over clutching his stomach. Goth's knee comes into his line of vision and kicks him in the face causing him to fall backwards onto the ice and landing hard on his back. When Loue attempted to rise, Goth's foot slammed down onto Loue's chest and pinned him back down.

"You see you're as weak as ever." Loue reached up and tried with both hands to push Goth off. Goth merely reached down and grabbed both of Loue's wrists in his hands then he pulled and twisted until a sickening pop was heard and both arms broke. Loue let out a scream as his arms fell limp to his sides.

"Loue," screamed Liddell and she rushed to his side. She bent down by his head and he looked at her with pain stricken and apologetic eyes. Before Liddell could do something to help him, Goth had her by the neck again and lifted her away from Loue.

"Once again Loue you will suffer as someone you love becomes mine and this time you get to watch as it happens." Goth started to bring Liddell closer to him but as he angled his face to her neck a snowball came out of nowhere and beamed Goth in the face. "What was that?" He wiped the snow off of his face and looked around for the culprit. He didn't see anyone until he felt something hit his leg. He looked down to see Hansel, she had managed to get Liddell's umbrella and proceeded to hit Goth's with it as hard as she could.

"Leave them alone you bully"

Goth stared at the young princess trying desperately to move him away from her friends. "This is it? This is the power of the mighty umbrella." He laughed and turned toward Loue. "This is what you cringe at the sight of. This is what haunts your nightmares. I don't get it, what is the big deal?" He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and looked to see that it was Liddell.

"It's all in how you use it," she said then rammed the tip of the umbrella into Goth's eye.

Goth released a scream of pain. He dropped Liddell and staggered off of Loue, clutching at his bleeding eye. Liddell and Hansel went to Loue's side and helped him up. When Loue was upright he let out a screech that sounded similar to bats. In response, thousands of bats started flying out of the darkest parts of the cave and swarmed all around. Before the bats could overtake the trio, Loue's cape started to grow and expand. It covered Loue, Liddell, and Hansel until they disappeared within it and with the cover of the bats they managed to escape the cave and Goth without detection.


	11. Chapter 11

**Confessions**

_Slash!_

The guillotine's blade came crashing down onto the watermelon that Liddell had place inside of it. She had been locked in the torture chamber for the last hour. Using the guillotine to slice up large fruit and vegetables and anything else she could find; all the while imagining that it was a certain vampire's head being cut up.

"I can't believe he lied to me. To me!"

_One hour ago:_

"What was that?" Liddell asked slightly yelling. She, Loue, and Hansel were in the gate room. They had just escaped from Goth and were hiding in the castle.

Loue looked at her with fake confusion. He knew what she was talking about but wanted to avoid the subject for as long as he could.

"Do you mean the thing with the bats or the thing with cape? Those are actually common tricks with…."

"NOT THAT!" she yelled and she hit Loue with her umbrella, a lot harder than she normally does. "I meant the part about Goth wanting to make me his bride. You told me that he wanted to mark the princesses. Oh and let's not forget the fact that he told me you had a girlfriend you wanted to mark after you had told me you never had someone like that."

Hansel stood off to the side of the room as far away from the two as she could get. She may be young but even she knew that you never get in the middle of a lover's spat. Loue sighed; he knew he couldn't avoid telling her any longer.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything but you have to stay calm."

"No promises."

"Alright it is true that Goth wants to mark you. When he heard that a young school girl managed to defeat Eld Witch he couldn't resist adding you to his list of trophy wives. I will admit that his plan to mark a princess was primarily a ploy to lure you here but that doesn't mean he wouldn't have marked a princess if he ever got his hands on one." Liddell would only glare at Loue, so he continued. "We tried handling the situation on our own and avoid bringing you here but he kept sending monsters by the hundreds. Eventually our numbers and resources began to dwindle and we had no choice but to call you to help."

"What about your girlfriend?" she asked in a snide childish tone.

"Princess Rozen and I had a simple and short relationship. We started out as friends and because we got along so well we tried to be something more. Our whole relationship was done in secret especially from her mother. As far as Eld Witch was concerned no one was good for her precious daughters." He took a moment to look at Liddell. Her face still held that glare but she didn't say anything. He didn't like her being this silent. Nothing good happens when someone like Liddell is silent.

"I didn't exactly lie to you before when I said there was no one that I wanted to mark. Rozen and I were good together but something inside of me kept telling me that this was not the girl I was meant to spend eternity with; though anyone looking at us probably would have thought otherwise. That's how Goth found out. He saw us together one day and thought that things were serious between us. At first he commended me for being able to land a princess. Then the war came and I turned traitor against my kingdom. Goth was more furious with me than anyone. Since I was his apprentice he had expected me to be like him exactly. He thought the perfect way to get revenge on me was by marking Rozen. However, Rozen was not like the other women Goth had mark in the past. Not only was she a princess but she had the resolve to do what no other woman before did."

Loue paused and look like he trying to find a way to form his next few words exactly right. His face had sadness to it that Liddell had never seen before. It was this look that caused her to momentarily forget her anger.

"What did she do?" she asked in a soft voice.

"After Goth mark her… Rozen took her own life." Liddell's eyes widened in shock and Hansel let out an audible gasp from the corner. "It was this that sent Eld Witch into a rage and sealed Goth away. She would have killed him right then and there but did not wish waste her power." He looked to Liddell. Her face was turned toward the ground so he could not read her expression. "Liddell, I apologize sincerely for lying to you but I thought if you knew the truth you wouldn't come at all and I couldn't take that risk."

"Do you really think so little of me? That I'm so selfish and can't help anyone." She turned toward and he saw the tears that were streaming down her face. "Stupid Loue…you don't know me at all!" She turned and stormed out of the gate room leaving a shocked Loue behind her.

_Present_

_Slash!_ Another fruit mercilessly claimed by the blade. Liddell was now crying again.

"He doesn't trust me"

Outside the torture room stood an anxious Kaguya who was debating whether or not go inside and console her friend.

"Still in there?" she heard someone ask. She turned to find Lyra and Hansel coming towards her.

"Yes, and I'm starting to get worried. This is very out of character for her."

Lyra snorted at the comment. "It's out of character for Liddell to lock herself in a small dark room and cut up small objects? Somehow I doubt that."

"Either way this can't be good for her." Kaguya says as she presses her ear to the door. "I think she's crying."

"Besides I don't think it will make a difference what we do," said Hansel. "The only one who can really help Liddell right now is Loue."

"I agree," said Lyra. "He broke her he can fix her."

Kaguya still looked unsure. "I hope so."

Loue was in the coffin room, his arms limp at his sides as he waited for them to finish mending. He felt horrible at how things went with Liddell. He should have just been honest with her from the very beginning and told her everything. Not just about Goth but about Rozen as well.

For 1000 years he felt guilty about what happened to Rozen. It was because of his relationship with her and his treachery that she was targeted by Goth and had to take the actions that she did. He thought it was the perfect punishment when Queen Alice put him here and made him guard Eld Witch's seal, even though that wasn't her intention. He preferred things this way. He wanted to be alone and have no one to get close to. That way no one got hurt because of him again.

Then Liddell came. Although they were together for a short time, she had managed to mend his heart. The way she laughed. How she stood up to every enemy and obstacle she faced. Her cute facial expression whenever he patted her head. She may have been a hand full but that didn't stop his feelings. By the time their adventure was over he knew without a single doubt, this is the girl he is supposed to mark.

"Trouble in paradise," said the Hatter as he appeared from out of no where

"What do want?" He was not in the mood for this person right now.

"I'm here to remind you that you still have a mission to complete. The last princess is waiting for you to come and get her."

"We had to take a break. I'm injured."

"Your arms healed five minutes ago while you were lost thought."

Loue moved his arms and saw that he right. "We're still not ready to go."

"Having problems with your witch?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"What are you more worried about? The fact that Liddell might not return your feelings or that Goth might mark her before you do."

"If my encounter with Goth just now has proven anything; it's that even after 1000 years I am still no match for him. That means I am completely incapable of protecting Liddell."

"I wouldn't say that. There is one thing you can do that can keep Goth away." At Loue's skeptical look the Hatter said, "All you have to do is mark her now."

"You're insane," he hissed.

"Why? Because I'm realistic. You said so yourself you can't fight Goth and he can't mark a girl who already has a mark."

"Even if I over look the fact that marking will cause her unimaginable physical pain. Her body would be frozen the way it is now, she would stop aging. That means she can't return to the life she had before. She would have to give up her school, her friends, and her family. If I forced her to do all that just because I didn't want another vampire marking her first, she would definitely hate me for it."

"You would have eternity to work out your marital issues."

"I'm serious! This is not how I wanted Liddell to receive my feelings."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I don't know but I do know what I have to do right now and that's make things right with Liddell." With that said Loue took off toward the torture room and the Hatter disappeared. Both unaware that someone heard their whole conversation.

"What are you three doing?" Loue asked as he saw Kaguya, Lyra, and Hansel outside the torture room with their ears pressed to the door.

At the sound of Loue's voice the three instantly backed away from the door. "Nothing," said Kaguya in a nervous tone. "We were just worried about Liddell. She's been locked in that room ever since you said you hated her personality and that she was a bad person."

"I never said that!"

"Really? You said he said that," said Kaguya as she looked to Hansel.

"That's what it sounded like to me. After all, she did get upset when he said she wouldn't help others over herself."

"Who would think that Liddell doesn't help others?" asked Lyra. "Are we forgetting a certain Eld Witch incident?"

"I certainly haven't," stated Kaguya.

Uhhh. They were giving him a mind grain. He forgot what gossips princesses could be. "If you don't mind I'm going to go talk to Liddell."

"You better be nice to her or when you get out of that room we won't be nice to you," threatened Lyra while three princesses glared at him and Hansel pounded her fist in her hand for tough effect.

"Alright." Note to self don't anger princesses and definitely do NOT have them stay in your castle ever again. With that thought in mind Loue opened the door to the room and went inside to talk to Liddell.

When he first entered the torture room he noticed his witch sitting next to the guillotine with her legs to her chest and her face buried into her knees. He couldn't tell if she was crying right now but he knew she probably had been. Without saying a word he crossed the room to her. Instead of stopping in front of her he went behind her and sat down, pressing their backs against each other.

"For months after you left I watched you while you were at school. I saw how you went about your everyday life as if nothing was different. One night, in particular, you had nightmare. I'm not sure what it was about but it had you shaking and crying. That was the one time I came out of my bat form, so that I could go console you. I held you and instantly you calmed down. As if you knew that nothing was going to hurt and that you were safe. From that moment on I wanted you to always have that feeling. I wanted to be the one to protect you."

"That's why I lied to you before about Goth and Rozen. I thought if you knew the truth about them and about my past that you would see me differently. I already hate myself for what happened. I couldn't take the risk of you hating me too.

"I hate the fact that you kept secrets from me but I don't hate you personally," said Liddell.

"You don't?"

"No." She turned around so that they were facing each other. "You're one of the few people in my life that I actually trust. I can't afford to be mad at you."

""Thank you, Liddell." Loue said with a smile.

"I remember that night, when I had the nightmare. I dreamt of my mother leaving me again and that I was left alone in the darkness. I always hated that feeling. Then something happened, from the shadows came a pair of arms that pulled me into a gentle embrace. Even though the arms came from the shadows they didn't feel cold. They felt warm and safe. That was you weren't it? I know it was because I've had that same feeling ever since I've been here with you now."

She leaned forward and wrap her arms around Loue's neck and he responded by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

"You are able to heal my pain Loue. So please, let me heal you too. I don't want you to keep secrets and feel pain anymore. I want to always remain by your side." As she said this tears were streaming down Liddell's face as she poured her heart out to Loue. "I love you."

Loue's eyes widened in shock for before they softened. He had never felt so relieved. He pulled back so he could see Liddell's face. He gently wiped away her tears and smiled at her. "I love you too Liddell. Already you have begun to heal the pain in my heart. I can't imagine not having you in my life. I want you to always be by my side." He leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Liddell's. Both promising to always protect the other.

**Chapter done! I know it's not the marking scene everyone was hoping for but they have confessed their love and had a kiss. That's pretty important. Next chapter will be candy kingdom and a depressed Aquell. Special thanks to all my reviewers. The reviews have kept me going. Extra special thanks to scarlett101 who help me with my writers block.**


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